Father's Day

The surf was big yesterday in San Diego.

Crystal Pier was closed due to high surf yesterday

By this morning the swell had dropped and looked fun at Tourmo, so I planned to meet Kelly in the water. With the chilly ocean tugging at my bare toes as I shuffled out, I was only a little hopeful that I could locate her in the Sunday crowd, but she found me by spotting orange/black/white Nemo.

Despite the weekend throng, we gained some space and a handful of fun waist- to chest-high rides. Heading back out after one of those, I glanced right and saw a wrinkled 70-year-old woman paddling her longboard near a 7-year-old girl stroking back toward her father on her shortboard. That made me smile. There were three fathers coaching their young daughters, so lucky to be learning at that age. They reminded me of my dad, who would have been 84 in a few days. He got me used to being underwater by carrying me on his shoulders in the apartment complex pool, singing "Teddy Bear's Picnic" and dunking me after the last line. Later, the gromette swooped by me on a wave and then asked her dad if he'd seen her awesome ride. He was lukewarm, but "Yeah! It was awesome!" I cheered, and she grinned at me.

The surf looked better toward the Point but also full of longboarders party-waving. And my back wasn't up to the long paddle. It still troubles me but I'm learning to live with the heightened level of pain and do my best to ignore it.

There were definite lulls, one so long that another shortboarder said, in his best announcer voice, "And this concludes this morning's surf session." Kelly and I paddled in nearer the cliffs, and I caught my best ride of the day, a partly broken left that reformed and let me work it way inside, surprisingly far as it lost energy and flattened out only to reform again nearshore. That's one benefit of my nice floaty 3-inch-thick fish.

Back home, I said goodbye to my 8'3" Magic, selling her to an Arrow fan from Santa Cruz named Corey. My 7'0" Emm went to a new owner last summer for less than I think she was worth, but there are a lot of surfboards for sale in San Diego, and the estimable Ward Coffey isn't as well known as in NorCal. Corey usually surfs at Tourmaline, so maybe I'll see Magic again sometime. My quiver is now down to three shortboards: 5'4" Firewire Spitfire "Kat", 5'4" 9:Fish Clownfish "Nemo", and 6'2" Ward Coffey "Rocket".

Magic at Tres Rocas